Attributes of Allah

Let us discuss some very basic attributes of Allah, which are the Self of Allah (Sifaat-e-Subootiyah).

Rahmat: Rahman and Rahim both point to one and the same essence of the divine attribute, Rahmat meaning Mercy or Grace. But these are two very different aspects or outcomes of Divine Mercy. Mercy unreserved, shown to one and all of His creatures, be they obedient or disobedient to their Lord, is known as Rahmaaniat. And mercy done specially to those faithful to their lord, as a reward or in appreciation of the goodness of the souls, is called Rahmat.

The attribute Rahmat stands as the source responsible for all His activities i.e. His creation, sustaining, guidance and legislation. Grace means to give willingly without any expectation of returns. No being is out of his Grace. Rahmat signifies All Enveloping, All Penetrating Universal Grace of Allah.
But to give more than what one deserves would mean to waste the grace and spoil the individual. Everyone of His creatures should not and does not receive His Grace less, or more than its individual merit or capacity. As he gives each according to its merit and reception, his gift is Adl, and this is Grace restricted by merit as implied in the word Rahmat.

Both Rahman and Rahim represent the fact that Grace and Justice in divine activity are not two separate attributes which can be conceived one without the other. Every being, in its state of existence, represents His Grace as well as His Justice.

Rab (in Rabbul-Aalameen): By 'Rab' is meant The One who gives everything its shape and guides it to reach it.

"A'ta kulla shaiyin khalaqahu thumma hada'
He is the one who gave everything its shape and guided it to reach it.

According to Raghib, an Arab lexicologist, the word Rab signifies 'the fostering of a thing in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of completion.'

Allah is Rabbul-Aalameen. He is the Lord, Cherisher, Nourisher and Sustainer of everything, the earth and the heavens, the known and the unknown, the seen and the unseen, the dry and the wet, the animate or inanimate, the visible and the invisible, the perceptible and imperceptible, the Rab of All Universes.

And by the word Rab it is signified that He is not only the Creator, but also Sustainer, Nourisher, Cherisher, stage by stage till completion of shape. The role of Rab starts as early as the will to create a being and when the being is created, to nurture it with love, devotion, never ceasing vigilance and care, providing with everything the creature needs according to the changes it is evolved through. Such is the Rububiyat of the Lord of the Worlds.

Again, the name Rabbul-Aalameen for Allah implies His Adl, or Justice. Man is warned of any kind of injustice to anyone in the creation of God, for God being the All Merciful Lord who has nourished and cherished a being, if even in the least be hurt, will not be pleased, and will not leave the offender, unpunished. This punishment is the very outcome of his Benevolence and Mercy. It is just like a mother who punishes one child for hurting the other, though she loves them both equally.

Haamid (the praiser) and the Mahmood (the praised one): Alhamdu means all praise, thanks, gratitude, indebtness and obligation in the real meaning and in every sense of the word, from the time when even time wasn't created to eternity, is due to none else but Allah and Allah alone, not by any force or compulsion but because only He deserves it.

If a man praises his Lord, Allah, then the question arises as to who is praising whom? The created is praising the Creator. How is this possible? How can the creation praise the Creator? It is only possible when the Creator has guided and taught the Created to praise! In fact, it is none else than Allah who is Haamid (i.e. The Praiser) and Mahmood (i.e. The Praised One). There is none else besides Him as He is the subject as well as the object of the praise. This quality can not be shared except Allah, who alone possesses these names.

Allah - That Bewilderment

In english, we use the word God to translate the Arabic Allah. But this is one great handicap or inability that the word God does not at all convey the concept of Allah.

Allah is nearest to every being from the point of realisation and the furthest one from the point of conception.

Let us see what it means. The word 'Allah' is a compound word with the definite article 'Al' with 'Ilah' meaning That God. If we refrain from using the term God, we need to explore the meaning of Ilah. The word Ilah has been taken from 'Waleha' or 'Aleha' meaning puzzling, referred to.

The word 'Alaha' means astonishment or wonder. If we add Al, the definite article of arabic language, Allah is coined which means the one which is ever beyond the approach of any conception, or even imagination, out of the range of knowledge or intellect. But that Allah is realisable by all creatures, of whose Supreme Authority everyone recognises.

A free-thinker argued with Imam Al-Sadiq (as) concerning the existence of Allah the Almighty. The Imam said to him, “Did you sail across the sea before?”
He replied, “Yes”.
The Imam said, “Did you see its horrors?”
He replied, “Once the wind blew and it was very strong and terrible. Thereupon, the ships were broken and the sailors were drowned. I hanged myself to some boards, but I lost them afterwards. So, the waves pushed me to the coast.“
Imam Ja’far said, "Before that you depended on the ships, sailors and the boards to rescue. When you lost all of these tools, you surrendered yourself to the destruction, although you hoped the safety afterwards”.

The free-thinker replied, "I did surely hope it”.
Imam Ja’far said, “Allah is the One Whom you entreated and hoped in this time. Your heart admitted His existence in the time of adversity, although your tongue denied Him in time of salvation. It is He Who rescued you from drowning."

Of the objects of human worship or devotion there is one which is known to everyone, and common to all, and all are conscious of it, which is the ultimate object of reliance and dependence, which, beyond the limits of conception or the reach of human knowledge or intelligence of any degree, is known to all yet undefinable in any language, and which is realised by everyone but could not be conceived by anyone.

One always recognises the Supreme Authority of Allah, but can never conceive it, for Allah is far from any possible conceptions. Conception means creation, and Allah is the Creator, not the created. If somebody conceives Allah, he creates a concept of Allah in his mind, and that becomes his creation. Certainly, whatever is the concept, it can't be Allah.

That is why when we say "Allahu Akbar", meaning Allah is great, what we mean is that He is great, greater than what we have conceived so far. That reflects in Dua-e-Mashlool edited by Ali (as), son of Abu Talib, as

"O' He! O' the one He! O' the one, none knoweth what is He! and how is He, and where is He and in what state is He, save knoweth Himself He!"

The more one attempts to understand that Absolute Being, the greater one gets to the bewilderment! The quest that begins for knowledge about Allah, ends in increased astonishment and wonder and the seeker has to surrender more and more each time. This sense is expressed in the word Allah, meaning "That Astonishment, That Bewilderment, That Wonder" which you always recognise, which all of you know, but none can conceive. Allah refers to That Realisation of the Absolute Being, The Supreme, the All Knowing and Almighty, whose knowledge leads to greater and greater bewilderment!

The word Allah is pointing towards of something which is already in the mind of realisation of everyone beyond any concept or definition, and not limited or arrested by the concept of any. That realisation, which leads you to astonishment, the more and more you realise His Authority.

That is why the word Allah is known as Isme-Zaat, or the name of the Absolute Self.

And Allah needs no praise, for a person likes to be praised for something extraordinary, novel or very important which he has acquired by great endeavour which might not be possible for others. There is nothing of good in God which He had not in Him, and which He has now acquired. He is goodness itself in its fullness and perfection. The praise in a prayer to Him is only to condition the praying individual with the love of the great attributes which are praised, for whatever a man prays, naturally covets to have it for himself.

Secondly, God needs no petition expressing the needs of any one, for He is the All Knowing Lord-Nourisher and the Sustainer. He knows the need of each and everyone of His creatures more than the creature themselves. But the prayer is to discipline, educate and train mankind in their remaining attached to their All Merciful Creator so that they may avail of the Divine Bounties conscious of the universe being ruled by the One, the only All Merciful Creator.

In the name of Allah - More...

The actual meaning of Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim being 'In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, and the Merciful'. Let us now explore the effects when it is recited by a believer on the work and on the believer himself.

Firstly, it means the supplication of one who thus starts any good work. It means that the supplicant does the work in the in the name or on the behalf of God, and not for himself. Though his personal interest in the work exists, but that too for the sole intention of bringing goodness to the work.

Secondly, it implies the individual's belief in the truth that all strength to do any work whatsoever, lies only in the God and none else. The individual confesses that it is only Divine Will that can lead to success of the work. If Allah is not willing, no power can bring success to the work being done.

Thirdly, the individual invokes the Divine Beneficence and Mercy in his work, hence expresses his own helplessness. The individual is crying for aid to achieve success. The individual is praying Allah to give his approval in the work he is taking up, for he knows that it is only Allah, and none else, who can give him the strength to do so.

Finally, there is a difference between Will and Pleasure of Allah. Histories of thousands of years are evident that there have been evil works, evil deeds that were carried out by numerous people in the world. Certainly, none of these works would've been completed if the Divine Will was absent. Happening of anything suggests Divine Will but not Divine Pleasure or Divine Grace. When a believer begins his work by Bismillah, he invoke the Divine Pleasure, the Divine Grace in his work, in addition to Divine Will.

Thus avoiding to invoke Bismillah before any work, causes the work to be done without the Divine Grace. Moreover, it implies the individual's belief in his own individuality and relying upon it, which is nothing but denying the All Almighty and One Supreme High.

In the name of Allah

The Holy Word of Allah, the Holy Qur'an, as revealed upon the Holy Prophet of Islam is a book which is free of any doubts. This book is a guide to mankind, a warner to nations, and Hidayah to Muttaqin (those who persevere).

Qur'an begins with Al-Fatiha, or the opening chapter. Through this single Surah, man is educated with the essential knowledge of the basic fundamentals of this life and the life after this life, the hereafter.

It contains the fundamentals of Islam, and hence is known as 'Ummal Qur'an or the mother or the essence of Qur'an. Why is it called so? A thourough study of the aspects and details of the seven beautiful verses shows.

No Salat (Namaz, i.e. prescribed prayer) is complete without recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha. It was the importance of this Surah that it was revealed at Macca as well as at Madina. It is also called Sabe Mathani (i.e. The Seven oft-repeated ones).

It begins with the verse "Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim". The recitation of Qur'an, of any Surah therein, begins with this important verse. Every muslim, irrespective of their nation or language, starts all their work with this verse. What makes this verse so important? What is contained in this small verse that encompasses the whole Qur'an as told in ahadith?

It translates in English as "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful". The Bi need not mean 'In the name of' always. It can also mean 'For the sake of' or 'To the service of'.

Let us now turn to examples. Suppose somebody has a meeting with their boss in the morning. The employee has not completed fully the tasks assigned to him, and he is worried about the state of affairs. He knows that his boss is cruel, and lends no mercy. He is afraid of being kicked out from the job. In a very fearful manner, he enters the boss' room.

What happens is the same he expected, the worse, he is kicked out of the job. He is helpless. When he comes out of the room, he is burning with rage. In his anger, he utters a couple of abusive words and tries to forget the bitter memories. This is the story of a boss of this world.

Now look how the Lords of the worlds, The Nourisher, The Cherisher, The Absolute Supreme Allah is called upon. "Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim". A muslim begins with the name of Allah, who is most Beneficent, and the most Merciful. Beneficency and Mercy are the pre-eminent qualities that we start with!

There are hundreds of beautiful names of Allah. Why Allah preferred to be called with these names by his devotees when they start a work? The names Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim. Because when a muslim calls for Allah's Beneficency and his Mercy, love for Allah is born in their heart. A feeling emerges that Allah, the Lord of the nations, is not an awful, dreadful and cruel being void of love and compassion, but His prime attributes are His boundless love and all enveloping Mercy, which invites, attracts, encourages, and forces every sensible human being to rush to Him for fulfillment of his desires and demands and to ask for forgiveness.

Unlike the cruel and tyrannical image that worldly leaders create, Allah wants to create an impression that He is All Loving and All Merciful to his creatures. He listens to them. These are the very first attributes Allah wants His creatures to know.

It is reported that once the Holy Prophet, while passing a graveyard, hastened his companions from the place and on his return while passing through the same graveyard directed his companions to walk slowly. The companions enquired, "O Prophet of God! While passing this very same place a little while ago, you wanted us to make haste from this place and now you ask us to walk slowly?" The Holy Prophet answered, "There is a being in one of the graves here who on account of his wickedness was being chastised and I being one of the God's apostles called the 'Rahmatul-lil-A'alameen' (i.e. mercy unto the worlds) found it unbecoming of me to stay at a place where one of God's creatures was being tormented.

But the same sufferer has left a child in this world, and the child has been taken to a scholar to start his education. The master first made the innocent utter Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim. The All Merciful God commanded the angels chastising the soul of the wicked one in the grave, to immediately withhold the chastisement saying, "It is not becoming of My Mercy to chastise the parent whose issue calls me the Merciful One".


Such is the Mercy and Beneficence of the Lord of the worlds. It is we who don't recognise our Master. So next time when you recite this important verse, you should know what Mercy and Beneficence is being told to us.